


A Carnival of Masks

by Graphophobic



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Body Horror, Body Worship, M/M, Other, Pining, Sex, unusual anatomy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:54:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22432180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Graphophobic/pseuds/Graphophobic
Summary: “Let me see if I'm understanding this correctly; I spend three hours in the Chaos realm...entertainingyou, and, in turn, I can continue the rest of this escape without the possibility of death?”“Yet again, you simplify the severity of the curse but you are correct.”
Relationships: Achilles/Zagreus (Hades Video Game), Megaera/Zagreus (Hades Video Game), Thanatos/Zagreus (Hades Video Game), Zagreus/Chaos
Comments: 52
Kudos: 1253





	A Carnival of Masks

With every attempt to reach the surface, Zagreus’ bonds with the Olympians become stronger. While they can only communicate briefly through their boons, he’s coming to understand why they are so eager to aid him in his journey.

Zagreus knows that they find him fascinating. He’s a new plaything, tantalizingly out of reach but with the potential to find his way to their realm. New gods don’t come along as often as they used to, let alone one with such a wonderful tragedy attached to him; prince of Hell, son of Hades and Nyx, a hidden existence revealed. The Olympians are vying for his attention, doing what gods do best. Forcing onto him gifts and blessings, making him choose between them, only to be blessed by the chosen and punished by the scorned. The gods are fickle in their alliances but, at the very least, they’ve turned over petty squabbles and remain amicable with him for now.

With every attempt to escape, Zagreus gets a better grasp on the family he is moving towards. When he reaches Olympus, he knows that the gods will be transactional. The blessings he receives as he escapes will need to be earned in due time. Every god will have their day and an eternity ensures that day will come. And yet, there is one whose blessings are not tainted with that burden of expectation.

Protected by the Chaos Egg, Zagreus steps into the swirling dark pool. He feels the sharp edges of stars in the liquid night, grazing him lightly where they would normally dig in and tear at his flesh. Reality warps and distorts around him. The bright, molten lights of Asphodel are replaced with the broken temple that gives Zagreus a place to stand, floating in the ocean of warped darkness.

“Master Chaos,” Zagreus acknowledges, looking around at the darkness beyond the temple columns. The boons lie on the other side of the cracked floor, glowing with the promise of curses and blessings.

As Zagreus approaches, the air shudders and Chaos manifests. Rising from the floor, flesh molds into itself like clay, screaming maws muffled by a prison of skin as it sews itself crudely around them, and leading up to the ethereal beauty of Master Chaos’ face. Red flowers open in bloom along their skin and wither just as quickly, while the impression of a child becomes an adult and wrinkles into another shifting lump in this physical form that strains against itself.

“There is a confidence with which you enter the Chaos realm now, Son of Hades,” Chaos notes, harmonic voice disinterested and clinical as ever. “Funny, finding sanctity in the paradoxical nothingness of everything.”

Normally, Chaos does not invite much conversation by disappearing but they lingered, appraising Zagreus with an iridescent gaze.

“I suppose Father always considered me his funniest child, in a manner of speaking,” Zagreus responded sardonically. He didn’t expect much of a reaction from Chaos but the wry smile that reflected his own was certainly unexpected.

Mostly because Chaos’ face had shifted into an actual reflection of his own, meeting a twin set mismatched green and red eyes.

“Familial chains surround the gods and we are no different. Destiny controls what we do and Fate cannot be defied. Though, we are privy to the privilege of decision as we wander closer to the inevitable. We cannot change the ending but there are nuances to savour along the way.” Zagreus was still as he processed the echoing words Chaos had spoken in his likeness. His throat felt tight.

“Then… Is my ending…” Instantly, Zagreus’ reflection melted back into the stoic image that Chaos had assumed as their physical form, laced with disappointment.

“That is the wrong question, Zagreus.” Despite their disapproval, Chaos remains but shifts, inviting Zagreus to step toward the offered boons.

Zagreus’ looks them over. The first two are typical but enticing. Limited movement for rarer boons. Take damage when he attacks but increase critical chance afterwards. Chaos’ boons were always powerful and the curses made Zagreus feel like he earned them. They were still handouts from a higher power but without the condescension of the Olympians.

But, as Zagreus looked at the third boon, he froze.

_Survive 3 hours in the Chaos Realm._

_Afterwards, death will always be defied within the territory of the Underworld._

“What- What’s the meaning of this?” Zagreus asked, more to himself than anyone else.

“Predictable, that you would be seduced by a secure path towards your goal,” Chaos chimed. “I’m sure you know the risks though, the prolonged exposure to Chaos. A realm without the construct of time, hours could amount to seconds or years. Or eons. It is a curse for a reason, Son of Hades.”

High risk, high reward. Zagreus was definitely tempted but...

“Is there a point to this boon?” he questioned. “Normally, these curses feel like they hold some sort of skill-developing challenge to them. Relying on my casts when my attacks damages me, becoming more cautious of traps when they hurt me more... What challenge does three hours in the Chaos realm amount to?”

“Finding benefit in the curses beyond their ultimate reward, what an optimistic perspective for a sacrificial mechanic. Powerful blessings sing for blood to drink yet you create a selfish value over your own spilled life.” Chaos smiles and draws closer to the young God, form shifting around him. “This, however, is a unique curse. I seek amusement. Perhaps I am allowing _myself_ a selfish moment of satisfaction but it requires a consensual contract.”

“Let me see if I'm understanding this correctly; I spend three hours in the Chaos realm... _entertaining_ you, and, in turn, I can continue the rest of this escape without the possibility of death?”

“Yet again, you simplify the severity of the curse but you are correct.” Zagreus watches Chaos, trying to determine what the primordial god was going to get out of this. The Son of Hades had a theory but Chaos was anything but predictable.

“I'm... Master Chaos, I'm just going to ask directly; is this a physical transaction? Pleasures of the flesh and all that?” An eerie chuckle reverberated into the rippling void and Zagreus felt his blood heat from the embarrassment. Did he misunderstand?

“You continue to intrigue and surprise me, Son of Hades. I am not against a carnal exchange, though I was not expecting one, considering your romances with other Underworld denizens. Ones that have the capacity for devotion and emotional reciprocation.” Well, that certainly was an embarrassing assumption on Zagreus' part. Especially as he remembered Chaos' near omniscience. Of course they'd know about his vague feelings for the others. Achilles, Megaera, Thanatos...

A tiny well of self-loathing swirled in the pit of his stomach. Leaving behind Hell had made him bolder about his affections, spreading his gifts and letting his feelings become clear... just as he's ready to leave it all behind for the surface. He loved them all dearly as companions and he didn't want to leave without them knowing the possibilities that had swirled in his mind but... even if one of them returned his feelings, he was set in his goal. He would make it to the surface.

The more Zagreus thought about it, the more he felt like an asshole.

And yet.

Zagreus lifted the curious boon.

“The gods... are not known for fidelity. Even when it comes to their own feelings. I'd like to think that I am above certain stereotypes but... We shall see how long those three hours are.” The boon sinks into his palm and he feels the curse lace itself into his mortal-coloured blood, exits locking and a mysterious force holding him captive.

“Well, the pact has been made,” Chaos stated, their form fading into the darkness. Zagreus blinked, looking around at the all-encompassing void.

“Odd,” Zagreus said, projecting into the space around him. “Is this the sort of entertainment you seek? Trap a god in solitary confinement and see what happens from afar?”

Silence.

“Shit,” Zagreus sighed. After a few more minutes of silence, Zagreus sat on the crumbling temple steps, resting Stygius at his side. The stairs cracked and descended down into the darkness and led nowhere.

_Chaos is a trickster, not a deceiver._ Nyx had warned him yet, he still agreed to his own imprisonment. A temporary contract but Master Chaos did not leave him with any misgivings about what was in store for him. A timeless three hours in the Chaos Realm. With a long exhale, Zagreus fell backwards, splaying his arms across the floor and looking up into the rippling darkness far above.

“This is probably the closest I've ever come to seeing the sky,” he muses aloud. “Nyx oft mentioned it in stories when I was young. The expansive heavens, clouds, wind and air. She told me his name as well; Ouranos. And what happened to him. Gruesome stuff.” His voice echoed and, although he knew Chaos must be watching, he felt alone.

“I caught glimpses of the horizon, at the other side of Styx,” Zagreus murmured. “I'm so close.” If all went well and he kept his wits about him for these three hours, Zagreus believed that he could finally make it.

He could cross the river, breathe the air of the mortals and ascend to Olympus. He would find his mother. Meet the rest of his family. Escape the suffocating repetition of Underworld policy.

All he had to do was wait it out...

* * *

It doesn't take very long for Zagreus to become bored.

For the last number of days, he's constantly been on the move, dashing and fighting and running around all the shifting layers of the Underworld. Never could he have guessed that the forced idleness would have made him so antsy and agitated. Then again, Zagreus never took well to stillness.

There's part of him that wonders if Chaos had planned to avoid him from the start or if this is a result of his... intimate proposal.

Zagreus hums and stretches. Certainly, Chaos would make for an interesting bed mate... though, he can't imagine a bed being involved in a place like this. Perhaps they would do it right on the marble floor of this forgotten, desecrated temple. Zagreus had always had a thing for the sacrilegious; there were a handful of times that Zagreus had stowed away in some half collapsed temple in Tartarus with a beautiful shade or demi-god to have a moment's meaningless delight.

Never mind that basically all the temples around the House were devoted to his father, Zagreus certainly didn't derive pleasure from the thought of sullying his father's houses of worship, no no.

With the cool marble against his back and impure memories swirling in his mind, Zagreus felt his breathing deepen and his body heat up. His hand wandered to his abdomen, moving up along his chest. Absentmindedly, he grazes his dull nails against his exposed nipple, lazily feeling the twinges of arousal course through his body.

Was Master Chaos watching this display of depravity right now? Could they be watching with curiosity? Amusement?

Interest?

“I'm not sure how much time has passed but I can't imagine that my resting has brought you too much amusement,” Zagreus breathes, tweaking the nub of his nipple as he spoke and sighing. “Maybe I agreed to this because I am a little pent up. If boredom's your curse, then I think you underestimated my ability to keep myself entertained.” As his right hand teases his chest, his left trails down, past his growing arousal to stroke along his sensitive thigh, his tunic sliding further up his leg.

His head felt light and warm as he immersed himself in his slow burn style of self pleasure. A sigh left his lips and he let his eyes drift close, just letting his hands wander and feel. Anywhere but where he wanted the most relief. Little noises escaped his lips, sighs and moans that echoed too loudly in this abandoned space.

“Well well, this is certainly a surprise.”

Zagreus' eyes flew open at the familiar voice, heart suddenly racing and face flushed as he whipped his head around to meet the smirking gaze of his voyeur.

“Th-Than, how did you, Chaos said this place was forgotten, I didn't-” Zagreus could barely form a complete sentence, flustered.

“Curiosity lured me through a swirling portal,” Thanatos explained, expression smug as he leaned against one of the pillars. “I couldn't imagine what would be on the other side. But don't mind me, Zagreus, you were putting on quite the show until I spoke up.”

How long had Than been standing there? Just quietly watching as Zagreus slowly worked himself up, back arching off the marble floor in this abandoned part of the Underworld?

“Than, I...” Zagreus was at a loss for words.

“Let me help you, then,” Thanatos suggested, sending a shudder right down Zagreus' spine. Help? His heart was racing, startled and unbelievably aroused. What kind of help? What was happening? Did Zagreus fall asleep and start dreaming? But Thanatos remained leaning against the pillar in the distance, making no move toward him. “I want you to lick your fingers for me.”

Oh. So this was happening. This was how he was helping.

Voice strangled by how absurdly turned on he was by this whole situation, Zagreus quietly brought his hand to his mouth, eyes locked with Thanatos as he licked up two of them, slow and challenging. Thanatos watched from the shadows, eyes locked. Like a predator that found its prey.

“In your mouth, Zag. Suck on them.”

Gods help him, he did as Thanatos instructed, sliding two fingers into his mouth. Holding Thanatos' gaze as he lathed over his fingers. At this point, Zag's cock was straining against the fabric of his clothing. He wanted nothing more than to give himself some friction, a slight relief with a couple of strokes.

But what was more infuriating than his neglected arousal was the fact that Thanatos seemed unaffected by Zagreus' current state. From this distance, he couldn't see a flush across his cheeks, no arousal to be seen through his pants. Maybe he didn't have a dick and imagining that made Zagreus feel better about the lack of bulge, but his breathing hadn't changed, his voice was frustratingly even and cool as ever. It wasn't fair that Zagreus was so worked up over this encounter.

“Pinch your chest with your wet fingers.”

Zagreus groaned, annoyed and aroused and still compelled by Thanatos' commanding voice, the sparks of pleasure causing him to roll his hips into the air.

“Than, are you just going to stand over there while this happens? Is this not doing anything for you?” Zagreus huffed.

“Oh, did you want me to come over? I was never invited so I figured you were doing alright on your own,” Thanatos stated, shrugging. “After all, you never wanted my help out there, what makes this any different?”

With a huff, Zagreus rolled his eyes.

“If my taking down the shades of the Underworld as I try to accomplish my personal mission and jacking off in a realm between realms are so indistinguishable from one another, then why are you suddenly respecting my boundaries?” Unable to resist any longer, Zagreus brought his hand down to where the fabric strained, sighing in relief as he touched himself through the cloth.

“Is that all you desire, then? Something physical before you disappear from the Underworld?” Resentment shone through Thanatos' tone and Zagreus felt cold spread through him, arousal flagging. He sat up, eyebrows creased as he stared at Thanatos.

“How could you possibly think that lowly of me, Than? What we have would never just be physical. You mean so much more to me than that.”

“Then why would you leave me, Zagreus?” Again, the accusatory question rears its ugly head. Zagreus is ready to retort but Thanatos continues, “Why go through the trouble? Why give me the gifts, the attention, the fantasy of our relationship if it didn't change your desire to leave?” Zagreus takes the onslaught of questions, gritting his teeth.

Why did this have to come up when he had just been touching himself? His body buzzed from arousal but the confrontation had basically killed his boner.

“Thanatos,” he starts slowly, diplomatically. “I need to do this. I have tried to explain that time and again but you aren't understanding. You don't know!” Defensively, Zagreus sits up and dusts off his tunic. Then takes a deep breath. “You don't know what it's like to learn those closest to you have lied to you for your whole life. That your existence had been hidden from the rest of your family and that your mother is not the woman that raised you. And not just that, you don't understand what it's like to merely stumble across that information! You don't know.”

Thanatos remained silent as Zagreus paused, actually feeling like this may be the curse Chaos told him it was. Confronting Thanatos and having to explain himself was something he'd been trying to avoid up until now. These discussions were rare between them.

Coy gestures and double negatives were how they communicated. Honesty was how they fought.

“Than. I think I could love you.” Zagreus carefully watched Thanatos as he said that, disappointed by the lack of reaction in the other. Still, he pressed on. “I truly think I may. But my love for you will not change who I am as an individual. I need to get out of the Underworld, for myself. I need to find my mother, for my own peace of mind. I am not selfish for taking opposition against my father's insane design to keep me locked in this literal hell for my entire immortal existence.”

“Yet, as you're leaving, you put more effort into our relationship than you ever have,” Thanatos noted, arms crossed. “Actually, in all of your relationships. When you're ready to leave it all behind, you are direct and honest about your feelings in a way that you never have been before. Do you realize how much pain you're causing for your friends?”

“Am I not in pain as well?” Zagreus shot back, riled up. “Do you think it brings me pleasure to be upfront about my feelings, realize what potential there is, and then leave it for a new beginning? The grief of loss is consuming me before I have even left. I wanted to avoid all this by not saying goodbye, Than.” Zagreus took a steadying breath. “But I realized that the loose ends were more devastating. With every step further away, I felt the burden of what was left unsaid weigh me down more. Every death became another opportunity. The more I talked to Achilles and Patroclus, Orpheus and Eurydice, the clearer I understood the poison of unspoken words. I've been sitting on these feelings for a long time. I have taken you for granted. I want you to know how I feel, and I want to know how you feel, and those feelings are invaluable but it has no effect on what is best for me alone.”

Zagreus was out of breath but shakily breath in and added, “f I do not get out of the Underworld, I will have failed myself.”

As the last words hung in the air between them, Zagreus felt a tiredness settle in him. It took a lot to get through that. The weight of dozens of failed attempts to reach the surface had settled into his bones and with every tense, guilt-inducing confrontation with Thanatos and Megaera, Zagreus felt the impossibility of his mission wear on him. The support of the Olympians, Nyx, Achilles, all the others, had kept him from succumbing to despair, strengthened his determination.

But whenever Megaera and Thanatos faced him, condescending his goal, it cut deep.

Thanatos wasn't leaning against the pillar anymore, he was moving toward Zagreus, who sat upon those crumbling temple stairs.

“I find the strength of your resolve absolutely fascinating,” Thanatos stated, crouching to Zagreus' level but remaining a respectful distance away. Zagreus stared at the other, feeling uneasy.

Something wasn't right about him. There was something uncanny about his features. Something off about his words.

“Though, I find it amusing that you should hold onto such convictions, especially being as close as you are with Achilles.” Thanatos' voice was distorting, splitting into opposing octaves as he spoke. “Between his love for Patroclus and his pride as a warrior, he chose pride. Now, the two shades are haunted by the melancholy of separation and the burden of their mortal decisions.”

By now, Zagreus understood what was happening but it didn't stop him from feeling the terror. He imagined this was what a mortal felt like as a God revealed themselves to them. Becoming aware of the enormity of a greater being, with unimaginable and oppressive powers, as it chose to use those indispensable powers to toy with you.

Gray, pulsing flesh crawled over Thanatos' face and withdrew, Achilles' golden locks tumbling over his shoulder and his gentle, world-weary gaze locking with Zagreus.

“I'm long past my regrets, lad. But are you sure that you won't regret following your pride through to the end?” Zagreus shuddered, trying to listen for some sort of tell but it was impossible. It was the perfect facsimile of Achilles' voice.

“This is a dirty trick, Chaos,” he growled. Before him, Chaos chuckled with Achilles' face, Achilles' voice and Zagreus couldn't help the way his heart fluttered. Achilles' was not prone to laughter and, even knowing it was fake, Zagreus couldn't control how it made him feel.

“Perhaps it is lad, but don't you find value in this?” Oh, even though he knew Chaos was using Achilles' face, the warm smile he graced him with still did such manipulative things to Zagreus' heart. “Our destinies are set by the Fates but our convictions are our own. Perhaps free will is an illusion but isn't it a beautiful one?”

“Master Chaos, I'd like to respectfully ask that you speak with your own face, now that I know its you,” Zagreus asked, glaring.

“Oh?” Achilles remained and drew closer and gods, even his scent was perfectly fabricated. Achilles had trained him, Zagreus was familiar with that earthly, human smell, retained even as a tangible shade of the Underworld. He had dreamed of that smell, awoken sweating and frustrated and yearning for it.

“But you are so much more receptive to this image.” They were Chaos' words but it was still Achilles voice. “As though he truly is here. Showing you the affection that you have desired since he was appointed a post in your father's House.” Achilles' hand lifted and stroked along Zagreus' jaw tenderly, following the bone to his neck and resting there with a loose grip. Another shiver worked through Prince's body from the contact, forcing his eyes closed for but a second, trying not to fall into the deception.

Nails tickled his neck, far longer than Achilles' own, and dug in enough to hurt.

“Or perhaps you desire something crueller, Zagreus.”

Her voice.

He swallowed as he opened his eyes and found Megaera's bitter stare, her wing enclosed around them and that gentle grasp becoming firmer. In a second, Zagreus found himself pressed back down on the marble floor as she leaned over him.

Countless times, he's killed her in battle but in this situation, he's left immobile.

“All of these contradictory desires,” she said, voice low and sultry and mocking. “One the one hand, you want to escape the Underworld. But then, you continue to seek the approval, the connections, of those that you will leave behind if you succeed. You want everyone to like you, Zagreus, you believe that if I truly understood you, I would be supportive and mutinous to your father.” Megaera's face twisted in confusion and she leaned closer, nails threatening to draw blood. “What will you do if you escape and can't find her? What if you do find her and she can't give you the love that you are burning for? Love that you are already surrounded by here?”

It took all of Zagreus' focus to remember that this wasn't Megaera. Chaos was wearing her face, her body, her voice... Stealing her words.

That was the part that truly disturbed him. Chaos knew them, and Chaos knew him. They knew what they wanted to say and that was what was making this hard for Zagreus to separate from reality. Chaos was revealing the hidden meanings of every conversation he's had with them since he began his escapes.

“I never claimed any of it made sense,” Zagreus started, feeling the pressure in his throat as he spoke. “Perhaps you're right. Perhaps I'll never be satisfied. Maybe it is my destiny to seek an impossible fantasy, to throw away everything that is good in my life on a whim.” Zagreus brought his hand to Megaera's face, imitating the gesture that Achilles' had done earlier. “But that is my decision to make. My path is my own to follow and ruin as I please. And you will follow yours. You will not change my mind and I will not change yours but at the very least, I am certain of what I need to do.”

With a burst of spontaneity, Zagreus rolled Megaera off of him and switched their positions, leaning over her. She looked up at him with a burning gaze. For a second, Zagreus wondered if Chaos was still playing the role of Meg or if the primordial god was noting his moment of insolence.

“Now, Master Chaos, if you're quite done wearing masks and probing my thoughts, I'd like to see this curse through with something a little less stressful than conversation,” Zagreus murmured, closing his eyes as he leaned in and pressed a tentative kiss against Megaera's soft lips.

When he opened his eyes again, Chaos had assumed their usual stoic form, making Zagreus feel small despite his current position leaning over the primordial god. Feathers and wings spread and transformed against the marble temple floor, formless flesh snaking around Zagreus' limbs. It felt cold and electrifying. Wordlessly, Chaos took Zagerus' face in both of their hands and drew him forward for another kiss.

Their lips touched and Zagreus felt something unravel in him. He wanted to sob at the feeling. He tasted the smoke of carnage and purity of creation on his tongue. Worlds being born and a thousand lives lost in the blink of an eye.

It was addicting. Zagreus moaned into the touch and followed the feeling as Chaos withdrew, holding him away.

“Patience, Son of Hades, I will entertain you as you have entertained me,” Chaos promised, distorted voice making Zagreus shiver. The world seemed to shift around them and the rippling darkness flooded the temple floors. He had expected the discomfort of liquid against his skin but instead, the darkness felt soft and silky. A weightlessness overcame his body and he found himself wrapped in that silky void, with only Chaos' metamorphosing flesh grounding him through their constant contact.

Zagreus felt everything and nothing at once. He wasn't sure he would ever be the same after this.

Something brushed against his crotch, undefinable without sight but uniquely Chaos, and it didn't take long for him to become hard, surrounded by the sensations.

“Zagreus, it is my face that you wish to see in this experience?” Chaos asked, cool breath against his neck. The Prince tried to focus on the words as Chaos surrounded him, all contrasting textures and pressure. A rough tongue against his nipple, a hot bite to thigh, deliberate and teasing and arousing but not relieving.

“Your face...” Zagreus tried to answer, cutting himself off with a gasp as a bite was sucked into his sensitive neck.

“I can assume any others.” Thanatos' voice.

“I know that your body will react to them more.” Megaera's voice.

“Do you want to play pretend, lad? You can give into temptation without consequence.” Achilles.

He couldn't help the way those voice made him feel. The physiological reaction. His desire for their love.

But it wasn't right.

Zagreus shook his head, pushing Chaos away for a moment. All at once, the sensations ceased and he was staring earnestly into analytical iridescent eyes.

“Right now, I want to be with Master Chaos,” Zagreus said, taking on a serious tone. “It's not fair to my friends to use their likenesses for something this selfish. And it's not fair to you, who has already been forgotten by so many of my world.” Without the distracting, shifting flesh against his skin, Zagreus could take a deep breath and smile up at Chaos. In all their chaotic, cosmic terror and sublime beauty, he basked under their curious, probing gaze.

“If we're going to do this, then it will be Chaos, the origin of all, and Zagreus, the prince of the underworld,” Zagreus declared.

As he lay in the darkness, Chaos glowed above him. A god of gods. There was a second of stillness, or an eon of it, but when it passed, a tiny smile had graced Chaos' lips.

“Then so it shall be.”

* * *

It started slow.

Somehow, Chaos knew where to touch and stroke to work Zagreus up. After the onslaught of sensation before, this careful and decisive approach was slowly driving the younger god mad. Fleshy masses wrapped all around his body and held him up, warm and living and intimate. Wrapped in the arms of a dozen lovers, Zagreus felt exhilarated but more than anything, the most unexpected feeling this brought him, he felt safe.

Zagreus' arms were around Chaos' shoulders, fingers lacing through their hair and stroking along the wings that often shifted into horns. His breath shuddered as Chaos peeled away his garb, gracing the newly discovered skin with light touches and kisses from manifested mouths.

“Chaos, is there anything that I-” Zagreus gasped from a light, cool bite on hip as the last of his garbs were drawn away.

“Prince, you need not concern yourself with that,” Chaos spoke. Their voice was everywhere all at once and Zagreus felt some ancient instinct in him that demanded he worship the elder god. “The pleasure that you feel pleases me thus. So simply submit and I will will experience all the same sensations.”

Gods, this was the most confusing yet arousing sex Zagreus had experienced. Everything and nothing and an undeniable connection to something beyond the limits of reality.

Zagreus shook as something... Something slide over his cock. He didn't know if he was inside Chaos because it felt like he had been inside Chaos all along, surrounded by them. He was so close, but warm hands prevented him from moving his hips and he whined, desperation mounting. A chuckle sang through the air.

“Master Chaos,” Zagreus breathed, pouting. Chaos' face was amused as Zagreus writhed against his bonds.

“Patience, Zagreus.” Chaos squeezed around his cock and Zagreus felt the breath get knocked out of him, blinding white pleasure but still without the relief of climax. “There are other things I would like to try before our time is up.”

Before Zagreus had the chance to ask, he felt a new sensation shoot up his back as a cool, tongue-like appendage licked a wet stripe along his spine, journeying down toward his entrance. The alien feeling of a cold press had Zagreus squirming but he was also panting at the attention, muscles relaxed and a rhythmic pressure on his cock erasing any of the discomfort he barely felt.

“Gods, Chaos,” Zagreus moaned, clutching at the primordial god's back as the appendage slide in. He was so close. His muscles spasmed and he was sure he was going to come but Chaos was in control, he was at the edge but the ancient god wasn't letting him fall over it ust yet.

They remained still for but a moment, then Chaos was moving.

Zagreus forgot the meaning of words as pressure alternated on both sides. He wanted to worship Chaos but Chaos was worshipping him, soaking him in attention and not allowing any part of him to remain untouched. Nothing would ever feel like this, so all-encompassing and overwhelming but no distress, just feeling. He was moving his hips and gasping for breath and no matter where he was, there was Chaos.

“Please, please, Chaos,” Zagreus begged and moaned and plead his devotion. It had been a long time since Chaos felt the warmth of reverence.

It felt like an eternity in a second but Zagreus was coming, letting out a howl unlike any he had before. Chaos sang praises in their dissonant voice, affirming and warm and safe as Zagreus' sensitive body shook, aftershocks coming in waves.

The flesh remained around him, gentle and soothing, lowering him into the silky darkness. The surroundings of the temple faded back into existence but Chaos leaned over him, running a hand through Zagreus' dishevelled hair as he caught his breath.

“Wow...” the Prince of Hades breathed, chest rising and falling dramatically.

“Predictable response but your endurance was to be expected, Prince,” Chaos noted. Their voice was the same as ever but Zagreus swore he heard a new voice layered in, something warm and gentle. Zagreus was feeling his body buzz, boneless and sated, sprawled against the floor.

“That felt... really good,” Zagreus sighed, unwilling to move. He basked in the afterglow and Chaos withdrew, eliciting petulance in the Prince who desired the contact. Too lazy and satisfied to move, Zagreus instead clutched at the silky darkness.

Chaos, composed and godlike, was suddenly standing above him.

“Well Zagreus, the curse is almost up,” they stated matter-of-factly. Oh. Zagreus had nearly forgotten about that. The curse, the boon, the whole existence of Tartarus and everything beyond this realm between realms.

The blessing.

“I'll... really escape this time, won't I?” Zagreus said, hazily processing the weight of the boon as the afterglow faded. Three hours in Chaos for the ability to defy death.

He was going to escape. He was going to meet his mother. If anything, he was going to meet the Olympians.

Chaos smiled above him, Stygius in their hands. Poised above the Prince's neck.

“Only if you survive the Chaos Realm.”

The blade fell and Zagreus felt death consume him, sapping what remained of his energy.

* * *

“Ugh.” His body ached as he emerged from the blood pool, into the House of Hades. “That goddamned trickster...”

Unfortunately, he didn't survive three hours. Zagreus imagined that Chaos had planned this from the beginning. Perhaps they would have granted the boon but obviously they were tempting the wrath of the Fates, nearly making escape as easy as he did. Still, Zagreus didn't regret taking the chance.

Shaking off the blood, he made his way through the line of shades to a stressed Hypnos, wildly flipping through his ledger.

“O-Oh, uh, hey! So, I have no clue what you did but whatever it was, please don't do it again,” the sleep god begged, tearing out pitch black pages. “As soon as your name appeared, it was like whenever REDACTED gets you, except WORSE! The ink has been bleeding across the rest of the ledger and its going to take me hours to get everything back in order! What the heck happened? Please do your best not to let this kinda death repeat, there is so much paperwork I have to do now.”

Zagreus wasn't sure if he could promise Hypnos that this kinda thing wouldn't happen again.

**Author's Note:**

> When ya try to write smut but it becomes an interrogation of Zagreus' personal resolve smh
> 
> I really like Hades. My computer will explode if I try to play it but I love seeing the interactions. Also, the eldritch-style design they gave Chaos got me writing for three manic days. If there's anything else I should tag, let me know, I wasn't sure what to include.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think~


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